On the spot - take action immediately

Stopping someone from getting behind the wheel after they’ve been drinking could save their life and the lives of innocent others.

If it is an emergency - call 111 and provide the details to emergency services.

If it is safe to do so, take their keys off them and offer to find them a safe ride home.

If the risk of drink driving is associated with a licensed premise - advise the licensee or duty manager of the risk and remind them of their duties to support safe transport options. 

If the person has been drinking on a licensed premise and appears intoxicated then report the incident to the local licensing team and/or Police.  See the Licensing section for more information.

Be a positive role model

Always drive sober and encourage members of your family/whanau to do likewise.

If you are hosting a family/whanau gathering or event, be a responsible host – e.g. make it alcohol-free, or have a range of alcohol-free options available, arrange a place for people to stay or a safe ride home if they’ve been drinking.  See Places and Events for more information on planning events.

Spread the word

Take opportunities as they arise to discuss drink-driving, its risks and consequences with your family/whanau.

Develop some safety protocols/kawa with your family/whānau.  These can focus on how to avoid the risks of drinking and driving, and having a plan to get home safely should that be necessary.

Start a group or if you are already part of a group or network you can plan initiatives to reduce drinking and driving in your community. ​For more information on doing this see Mobilising Others.

Assist people to get the help they need

If you have any concerns about someone you know who is drinking and driving assist them or their family to get professional help.

Help can be reached at your GP/local medical centre, school counsellor or local Community Alcohol and Drug Service.

The Alcohol and Drug Helpline is a useful starting point for anyone who has concerns about their own or others drinking. They will be able to support you towards the best course of action and local services including youth services - 0800 787 797.

Advocate to increase the number of random breath tests

To ensure our drink driving limits are effective, we need to enforce them. However, random breath test numbers have been declining substantially and we need to increase them to the point of one test per year per licensed driver. That would mean around 3 million tests per year. A lot more than what we are currently doing.

Speak to your local MP about this issue.

Change the wider environment to change our drinking culture

By reducing the amount of alcohol consumed, we can help reduce drink driving.

The most effective measures to reduce the amount we drink are listed below. Read each section to find out how you can take action on these environmental factors that support low-risk drinking.

You can mobilise others to:

• Reduce the availability of alcohol
• Increase the price of alcohol
• Restrict alcohol advertising and sponsorship
• Promote the uptake of early and brief intervention

On the spot - Address any immediate health and safety issues

If you are concerned about your safety, or that of others, call emergency services on 111.

When any urgent matters are under control and if you feel it is safe to do so, look to minimise any further consumption and risks. Get assistance with this if possible.

If you see an intoxicated person in a licensed premises (e.g pub, night club) alert the duty manager, and/or the Police on 111. If you know that an intoxicated person has been drinking at a particular licensed premises, then follow the above.

Spread the word - Promote informed choice

As opportunities arise guide people in your life to relevant information on alcohol and to the low-risk drinking guidelines.

Develop some safety protocols/kawa with your family/Whānau. These can focus on how to avoid drinking excessively, and what to do if they are in trouble.

If you have a group or network that you belong to, work together to raise awareness in your community about alcohol and share relevant information and links to low-risk drinking guidelines or other tools. 

Assist people to get the help they need 

If you have any concerns about the alcohol use of people in your life, assist them or their family to get professional help.

• Help can be reached at your GP/local medical centre, school counsellor or local Alcohol and Drug Service.
• The Alcohol and Drug Helpline is a useful starting point for anyone who has concerns about their own or others drinking. They will be able to support you towards the best course of action and local services including youth services - 0800 787 797.

Change the wider environment to change our drinking culture

Take action on environmental factors which support low-risk drinking. For example, foster and mobilise others to:

• Reduce the availability of alcohol
• Increase the price of alcohol
• Restrict alcohol advertising and sponsorship 
• Promote the uptake of early and brief intervention

Alcohol is a toxin the body wants to get rid of

When alcohol is consumed, the human body is alerted and will start to eliminate it.  The liver does much of this process.

It takes around one hour for a healthy liver to process a single standard drink. This is only an average, a person's other health issues will impact this.

Drinking more than one standard drink in an hour will mean that the liver cannot keep up, and the alcohol will build up and start to be absorbed into the blood stream.

This leads to a range of impairments;

• Initially, the drinker will experience light-headedness and feelings of euphoria – generally these are pleasant.  They are the early signs of impairment.
• Balance and movement will be affected – increasing the risk of falls and other injuries.
• Slowed reaction times – slowing essential skills needed for driving, cooking, looking after children etc.
• Impaired judgement – increasing the risk of aggression, and making poor choices such as driving, or getting into a car with someone intoxicated, or continuing to drink, or having sex you later regret.
• Changed mood and emotional state – this can lead to missing or misinterpreting social cues increasing the risk of aggression and violence, depression.
• “Hangover” – the after effects of heavy drinking can carry over into the next day. This might affect the ability to attend work, school or university, look after children or other responsibilities.

Continued consumption can lead to black-outs and alcohol poisoning. 

As well as injuries and violence, heavy consumption of alcohol can have significant and long-term effects on the body including brain damage, liver damage and failure.

The law on intoxication

New Zealand does not have any laws against being intoxicated or drunk. Rather, the Police can apprehend persons if they are creating disorder.

There are a number of offences related to intoxication. Most of these relate to licensed premises. You can read them here.

For example, a licensed premises MUST NOT:

• Sell or supply alcohol to an intoxicated person
• Allow a person to become intoxicated on their premises
• Allow a person who is intoxicated to remain in the licensed premises

In addition, it is illegal for anyone under 18 to be drinking in a public place (without their parent/guardian).

Factors which facilitate heavy drinking in New Zealand

There are a number of factors in our environment which facilitate heavy drinking:

• licensed premises open late at night and early morning,
• a high number of licensed premises in an area
• high exposure to alcohol marketing and promotion,
• cheap alcohol products
• certain types of products such as Ready-to-drinks (RTDs)
• availability of higher strength beverages.

Screening for hazardous drinking

The earlier we intervene on hazardous drinking, the less harm will result.

Ideally, everyone who is seen by a health practitioner should be screened for alcohol use, and if found to drink hazardously, provided with brief intervention and referral to treatment.

Intoxication increases the risk of a range of alcohol-related harms

Intoxication often leads to acute effects including violence, unintentional injuries and self-harm, but also longer terms harms such as long-term health conditions and social problems.

Skills and inhibitions decrease with more amount of alcohol is consumed on a single occasion. This often leads to a greater risk of injury during, or immediately, after the drinking occasion.

In 2019/20, among those who drank in the past year in New Zealand:

• 14.6% consumed 6 or more drinks on one occasion at least weekly
• 27.5% consumed 6 or more drinks on one occasion at least monthly
• 25.7% were classified as hazardous drinkers.

Drinking four standard drinks on a single occasion more than doubles the relative risk of an injury in the six hours afterwards, and the relative risk rises even more rapidly when more than four standard drinks are consumed on a single occasion.

Assist people to get the help they need

If you have any concerns about the alcohol use of people in your life, assist them or their family to get professional help.

Help can be reached at your GP/local medical centre, school counsellor or local Alcohol and Drug Service.

Alcohol and Drug Helpline is a useful starting point for anyone who has concerns about their own or others drinking. They will be able to support you towards the best course of action and local services including youth services - 0800 787 797.

Change the wider environment to change our drinking culture

Take action on environmental factors which support low-risk drinking. For example, foster and mobilise others to:

• Reduce the availability of alcohol
• Increase the price of alcohol
• Restrict alcohol advertising and sponsorship - especially as persons with alcohol dependence are sensitive to alcohol advertising
• Promote the uptake of early and brief intervention

Dependence (Addiction)

Alcohol is an addictive substance and some people become dependent on it. 

Addiction is a clinical diagnosis made by an appropriately qualified clinician. It is characterised by a strong desire to drink and an inability to stop drinking.

Some people who are experiencing addiction may function very well – this is usually in the earlier stages.

As their addiction progresses they may need to drink more to achieve the desired effect; and the effect of their addiction will start to increase.  It will have an increasing negative impact on their health, schooling or work, relationships and life more generally. 

Professional help is usually required to address addiction. 

A crisis can often prompt people to seek help. For some, an intervention is required to prompt the person to seek the help they need.  Those who have sorted help for their addiction will have to plan to stop or cut back their drinking. It is important that they are supported to do this.

Hazardous drinking

The 2019/20 New Zealand Health Survey showed that around 838,000 adults (or 20.9% of the population aged 15 years+) were classified as hazardous drinkers. Almost one-third (32.4%) of 18-24 year olds adults were classified as hazardous drinkers.

Many of these will be at risk of having or developing an alcohol use disorder.

Alcohol use disorders

There is a lack of information on the number of New Zealanders with a diagnosis of alcohol use disorders.

In 2006, it was estimated that just over 4% of the population in their lifetime will experience alcohol addiction and 11% will experience alcohol abuse.

In 2016, it was found that 4.2% of the population reported symptoms of alcohol abuse (2.6%) or dependence (1.3%) in the past year. This equates to over 100,000 New Zealanders.

Note that alcohol abuse and dependence have been combined in the DSM5 to become alcohol use disorders, read more here.

You can do a lot to support and encourage low-risk drinking among your friends and family.

Be a positive role model

• enjoy yourself without alcohol
• model how to refuse a drink/avoid pressure to drink
• if drinking, do so within the low-risk drinking guidelines
• if you are driving or responsible for looking after children, don’t drink
• if you are concerned about your drinking, seek help from your GP or other health professional. This will model help-seeking behaviour.
• be alcohol-free if you are planning to have a baby or are pregnant. Support those around you who might be pregnant by being alcohol-free too.

Spread the word - Promote informed choice

As opportunities arise, guide people in your life to relevant information on alcohol and to the low-risk drinking guidelines.

If you have a group or network that you belong to, work together to raise awareness in your community about alcohol and share relevant information and links to low-risk drinking guidelines or other tools.

Assist people to get the help they need 

If you have any concerns about the alcohol use of people in your life, assist them or their family to get professional help.

Help can be reached at your GP/local medical centre, school counsellor or local Community Alcohol and Drug Service.

Alcohol and Drug Helpline is a useful starting point for anyone who has concerns about their own or others drinking. They will be able to support you towards the best course of action and local services including youth services - 0800 787 797.

Change the wider environment to support low-risk drinking

Taking action on environmental factors will support low-risk drinking.  For example, you could foster and mobilise others to:

• Reduce the availability of alcohol
• Increase the price of alcohol
• Restrict alcohol adverting and sponsorship
• Increase the legal purchase age to 20 years
• Promote the uptake of early and brief intervention